John McCaslin is a broadcaster, author, and public speaker. He currently is co-anchor of America’s Morning News, produced by Talk Radio Network

Talk Radio Network

Talk Radio Network is an American radio network providing talk radio programming, with an emphasis on conservative talk on weekdays and variety/general interest talk radio on weekends. Some of the most recognizable personalities in American radio, such as Laura Ingraham and Michael Savage, are...

 (TRN) Entertainment. On a daily basis for nearly two decades, he penned the nationally-syndicated Inside the Beltway

Inside the Beltway

"Inside the Beltway" is a phrase used to characterize parts of the real or imagined American political system. The name refers to the Capital Beltway , a circumferential highway , completed in 1964, that encircles Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States.The phrase is commonly used to...

 political column.

Personal life

John McCaslin was born in Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

, the son of senior FBI Special Agent Robert W. McCaslin. He graduated from Old Dominion University

Old Dominion University

Old Dominion University is a state university located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...

 in Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

, majoring in speech communication.

Professional career

McCaslin began his journalism career in 1980 in Kalispell, Montana

Kalispell, Montana

Kalispell is a city in and the county seat of Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2010 census put Kalispell's population at 19,927 up 5,704 over 2000. At 40.1% this is the largest percentage of growth of any incorporated city in Montana. Kalispell is the largest city and commercial center...

, working as news director/anchor of radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

 KOFI

KOFI

KOFI is a radio station licensed to serve Kalispell, Montana. The station is owned by KOFI, Inc. It airs an Oldies music and News/Talk radio format.The station was assigned these call letters by the Federal Communications Commission....

-AM. From 1982-84 he was news director/anchor of Bee Broadcasting, Inc.

Bee Broadcasting, Inc.

Bee Broadcasting, Inc., also known locally as the "Bee Broadcasting Radio Network", is a regional radio broadcasting company, based in Kalispell, Montana. The stations they operate cover the entire Flathead Valley area of northwestern Montana, including all of Glacier National Park...

 stations KJJR

KJJR

KJJR is a radio station licensed to serve Whitefish, Montana. The station is owned by Bee Broadcasting, Inc. It airs a News/Talk format....

-AM and KBBZ

KBBZ

KBBZ is a commercial radio station in Kalispell, Montana, broadcasting to the Kalispell-Flathead Valley, Montana, area. KBBZ airs a classic rock music format....

-FM in Whitefish, Montana

Whitefish, Montana

Whitefish is a city in Flathead County, Montana, United States. The population was 5,032 at the 2000 census. It is home to a ski resort on Big Mountain called Whitefish Mountain Resort. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer hails from Whitefish....

 He was also an award-winning correspondent for United Press International

United Press International

United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...

and stringer

Stringer (journalism)

In journalism, a stringer is a type of freelance journalist or photographer who contributes reports or photos to a news organization on an ongoing basis but is paid individually for each piece of published or broadcast work....

 for NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 and ABC network

ABC Network

ABC Network may refer to any of the following:*American Broadcasting Company, a private television network in the United States.*Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, regional radio and television broadcaster in Japan....

.
In 1984, McCaslin joined the Washington Times as a White House correspondent

Correspondent

A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...

, working under famed Washington newspaperman Jeremiah A. O’Leary. For two years, he covered the war in Nicaragua from Washington, Miami and Managua. He was appointed assistant national editor, and became metropolitan editor when DC Mayor Marion Barry

Marion Barry

Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who is currently serving as a member of the Council of the District of Columbia, representing DC's Ward 8. Barry served as the second elected mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991, and again as the fourth mayor from 1995...

 was target of a federal investigation and indictment. In 1992 he began penning Inside the Beltway, which was later syndicated by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate

Los Angeles Times Syndicate

The Los Angeles Times Syndicate and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate International are newspaper syndicates which sold more than 140 features in more than 100 countries around the world....

and Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

’s Tribune Media Services

Tribune Media Services

Tribune Media Services is a syndication company owned by the Tribune Company.The company has two divisions, "News and Features" and "Entertainment Products"...

and was hosted on wsRadio

WsRadio

wsRadio is an Internet talk radio which started broadcasting on August 15, 2001 with 5 shows and has grown to over 120 shows....

 in 2008-09. His writings have appeared in myriad publications, from Reader’s Digest to Tennis, and his cover stories for Capitol File magazine have featured Katie Couric

Katie Couric

Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...

, Katherine Heigl

Katherine Heigl

Katherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and producer. She is possibly best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series in 2007...

, Mira Sorvino

Mira Sorvino

Mira Katherine Sorvino is an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Mighty Aphrodite and is also known for her role as Romy White in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.- Early life :Sorvino was born in Tenafly, New Jersey...

, Padma Lakshmi

Padma Lakshmi

Padma Parvati Lakshmi also Padma, Lady Rushdie is an American cookbook author, actress, model and television host. She has been the host of the US reality television program Top Chef since season two in 2006, for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for...

, Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ray Charles's wife, Della Bea Robinson, in the film Ray , as Idi Amin's wife Kay in The Last King of Scotland, and as Alicia Masters, love interest of Ben Grimm, The Thing, in the live-action Fantastic Four films of 2005 and 2007...

, and Lauren Graham

Lauren Graham

Lauren Helen Graham is an American actress and producer. She is best known for playing Lorelai Gilmore on the WB Network dramedy series Gilmore Girls and Sarah Braverman on Parenthood.-Early life:...

. He has also been a well-published travel writer, filing extensively from around the world.
McCaslin has been a regular guest of MSNBC

MSNBC

MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

’s Hardball with Chris Matthews

Hardball with Chris Matthews

Hardball with Chris Matthews is a talk show on MSNBC, broadcast weekdays at 5 and 7 PM hosted by Chris Matthews. It originally aired on now-defunct America's Talking and later CNBC. The current title was derived from a book Matthews wrote in 1988, Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told by One Who...

, Fox News Channel

Fox News Channel

Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...

’s Fox & Friends

Fox & Friends

Fox & Friends is an American morning television show on the Fox News Channel.-History:The show begins at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time with the latest Fox News Live headlines and analyzes the news of the morning...

, C-SPAN

C-SPAN

C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...

’s Washington Journal

Washington Journal

Washington Journal is an American television series on the C-SPAN network in the format of a political call-in and interview program. The program features elected officials, government administrators and journalists as guests, answering questions from the hosts and from members of the general...

and Booknotes

Booknotes

Booknotes is an American television series on the C-SPAN network hosted by Brian Lamb, which originally aired from 1989 to 2004. The format of the show is a one-hour, one-on-one interview with a non-fiction author. The series was broadcast at 8 p.m. Eastern Time each Sunday night, and was the...

with Brian Lamb

Brian Lamb

Brian Patrick Lamb is the founder and chief executive officer of C-SPAN, a television network dedicated to coverage of government proceedings and public affairs. Born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana, Lamb earned a degree from Purdue University before joining the United States Navy...

, National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Sunday, and the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

. He has been guest host

Guest host

A guest host is a host, usually of a talk show, that substitutes for the regular host if they are, for example, ill or have other commitments...

 for Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...

, Mary Matalin

Mary Matalin

Mary Joe Matalin is an American political consultant, well known for her work with the Republican Party. She was an assistant to President George W. Bush and counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney until 2003. Matalin has been chief editor of Threshold Editions, a conservative publishing imprint...

, Sam Donaldson

Sam Donaldson

Samuel Andrew "Sam" Donaldson, Jr. is a reporter and news anchor, serving with ABC News from 1967 to the present, best known as the network's White House Correspondent and as a panelist and later co-anchor of the network's Sunday Program "This Week."-Early life and career:Donaldson was born in El...

, Oliver North

Oliver North

Oliver Laurence North is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author....

 and Michael Reagan

Michael Reagan

Michael Edward Reagan is a former American radio host and Republican strategist. His nationally syndicated radio show, The Michael Reagan Talk Show, aired on stations throughout the United States on the Premiere Radio Networks before being dropped, after which it moved to Radio America...

, among other syndicated radio hosts. In June 2009, McCaslin was tapped by the Talk Radio Network to be co-host of the ground-breaking three-hour America's Morning News.

Books

Weed Man: The Remarkable Journey of Jimmy Divine (2009), Inside the Beltway: Offbeat Stories, Scoops and Shenanigans from Around the Nation’s Capitol, (2004) Chicken Soup for the Soul (2006)

Awards and honors

American Society of Public Administration Hodding Carter

Hodding Carter

William Hodding Carter, II was a prominent Southern U.S. progressive journalist and author. Carter was born in Hammond, the largest community in Tangipahoa Parish, in southeastern Louisiana, to William Hodding Carter, I , and the former Irma Dutartre...

Outstanding Journalism Award; National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ award; Blinded American Veterans Foundation Congressional Award.

External links

• John McCaslin: Columnist & Author of Inside the Beltway & Weed Man (official home page)
• America's Morning News - Talk Radio Network